Pages

Saturday, 23 February 2013

Sepia Saturday - Families Together

Each week, Sepia Saturday, provides an opportunity for genealogy bloggers to share their family history through photographs.This week's prompt was of an unknown family group. I have chosen to focus on families together, beginning with a tale of my mystery photograph - it took 12 years for me to confirm who it was!

This photogrpah came to me in 2000 from the collection of my great aunt Jennie Danson, daughter of Maria Danson, nee Rawcliffe. Maria was one of five surviving sisters. Jennie had identified so many of her many photographs, it was frustrating to find this photo unnamed. But it must have meant something at sometime to have been kept. By a process of elimination I suspected from the family composition and ages of the children, it could well be sister Alice, her husband John Mason, eldest daughter Jane Elizabeth who never married and two younger children. possibly Florence and Harold. They had 11 children in total - 6 in Fleetwood, Lancashire and 5 in Brooklyn, New York. The family emigrated to America 1886-7 but there was nothing to indicate where the photograph had been taken.

Despite a stream of pleas on website messaqge boards, I got nowhere, until a blog posting on my mystery photograph at long last produced results and I was contacted by the granddaughter of Florence (above) who had a copy of the very same photogrpah but identified as taken in New York. My newly found third cousin Bonnie also provided me with an update of the family group, (below) with Florence and Harold front right, and eldest sister Jane back left. Taken in 1920's.

A wonderful find - so take heart, have patience and you could be successful in identifying your mystery photograph.

Below is another sister of Alice and Maria - Jane who married George Riley. She is pictured here with four generations of her family - son George (left), grandson Jack (right) and baby George Robert who sadly died in infancy.The photograph came to me from internet contact Michael, a Riley descendant.

Here c.1908 is the third sister Maria, my great grandmother, with her daughter Jennie - the youngest and only daughter of eleven children (9 surviving infancy). The little child at the front is Maria's granddaughter Annie Maria Danson, whose mother died from TB when Annie was only one year old. and she and her father John made their home with Maria. Sadly John died during the First World War, leaving Annie an orphan at a young age.

I love this group photograph of my grandmother Alice Danson, nee English (who I never knew) with her children Edith, Kathleen (my mother), Harry and baby Billy. Taken 1916 when my grandfather William Danson was marching out to war.

And to bring us more up to date a typical 1950's family - my parents with myself and brother Christopher - probably taken by my aunt who often joined us on outings. By today's standards, we are very formally dressed for a picnic, with my father wearing a jacket, collar & tie and my mother a stylish dress and necklace. I am in my school blazer and note my Clark sandals that all little girls seemed to wear then.

Oh yes the Clarkes sandals. Both my husband I remember wearing them....so why did we make our own children wear them too? Lovely pictures Sue and I can see why are so taken with the one of your grandmother and her children.

Your description of the persistence with which you pursued the identities of this picture sounded, o, so familiar. And when finally someone out there in cyberspace finally connects, it makes all the effort worth while. Also, I really liked the collection and how you put it all together. Very nice.

About Me

I have been interested in family history for years. It all began when I was allowed as a child to look through the old family photographs and memorabilia kept in a shoebox in the cupboard at my grandfather's house. That treat started me on a fascinating ancestral trail.